PAPER #54 - Procrastination, Stress and Coping in Students and Employees.

Problem statement: Throughout history, procrastination is seen as an unwanted behaviour that can bring about negative consequences. Researches show that procrastinators have higher levels of stress than people who do not procrastinate and thus, lower levels of well-being. Because procrastinators tend to delay the actions that are necessary in order to reach a goal, they engage more frequently in avoidant coping behaviours. Studies have revealed that younger people are inclined to procrastinate more than older people, and that procrastination levels decrease with age. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to analyse the relations between procrastination, coping styles and stress in a group of 134 people comprised of 86 employees and 48 high school students, coming from both an urban and a rural area. Research Methods: This study has a correlational design and the data was collected from the participants through a series of questionnaires that measure procrastination (General Procrastination Scale), coping styles (The Proactive Coping Inventory), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and proactive competences (Utrecht Proactive Competence scale). Findings: The findings show that procrastination is positively linked to stress and avoidance coping, and negatively linked to proactive coping, proactive competences, reflective coping, strategic planning and emotional support seeking. There is a negative correlation between perceived stress and proactive coping. After computing the independent samples t test we found significant differences between students and employees regarding the procrastination and stress levels, strategic planning and proactive competences. On the one hand, students tend to procrastinate more than employees and have higher levels of stress, while on the other hand, they use strategic planning less than employees and have less proactive competences. Conclusions: The results are in accordance with other studies' findings and illustrate that both procrastination and stress decrease with age and the use of proactive coping increases with age. Longitudinal studies are needed in order to better explore the changes that occur over time in each of these variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]